{Day 3} 31 Days of Charlotte Mason: A Little Fall of Rain

Thank you for visiting me during my 31 Days of Charlotte Mason! I am stretching my creativity with this challenge and personal goal to post for 31 Days.

Today it was a rainy day in Central Indiana. We spent most of the day in the cozy indoors. I did take a brief moment to capture a few snapshots on my way into our tutorial program. In the spirit of Charlotte Mason, I am pairing these photos with a few quotes from one of our favorite classic works.

And rain will make the flowers grow.-A Little Fall of Rain, Les Miserables

He inclined towards all that groans and all that expiates. The
universe appeared to him like an immense malady; everywhere he felt
fever, everywhere he heard the sound of suffering, and, without seeking
to solve the enigma, he strove to dress the wound. The terrible
spectacle of created things developed tenderness in him; he was occupied
only in finding for himself, and in inspiring others with the best way
to compassionate and relieve. That which exists was for this good and
rare priest a permanent subject of sadness which sought consolation.
-Victor Hugo, Les Miserables

As we have seen, prayer, the celebration of the offices of religion, alms-giving, the consolation of the afflicted, the cultivation of a bit of land, fraternity, frugality, hospitality, renunciation, confidence, study, work, filled every day of his life. Filled is exactly the word; certainly the Bishop's day was quite full to the brim, of good words and good deeds. Nevertheless, it was not complete if cold or rainy weather prevented his passing an hour or two in his garden before going to bed, and after the two women had retired. It seemed to be a sort of rite with him, to prepare himself for slumber by meditation in the presence of the grand spectacles of the nocturnal heavens.
-Victor Hugo, Les Miserables

Sometimes, if the two old women were not asleep, they heard him pacing
slowly along the walks at a very advanced hour of the night. He was
there alone, communing with himself, peaceful, adoring, comparing the
serenity of his heart with the serenity of the ether, moved amid the
darkness by the visible splendor of the constellations and the invisible
splendor of God, opening his heart to the thoughts which fall from the
Unknown. At such moments, while he offered his heart at the hour when
nocturnal flowers offer their perfume, illuminated like a lamp amid the
starry night, as he poured himself out in ecstasy in the midst of the
universal radiance of creation, he could not have told himself,
probably, what was passing in his spirit; he felt something take its
flight from him, and something descend into him. Mysterious exchange of
the abysses of the soul with the abysses of the universe!
-Victor Hugo, Les Miserables

He thought of the grandeur and presence of God; of the future eternity, that strange mystery; of the eternity past, a mystery still more strange; of all the infinities, which pierced their way into all his senses, beneath his eyes; and, without seeking to comprehend the incomprehensible, he gazed upon it. He did not study God; he was dazzled by him. He considered those magnificent conjunctions of atoms, which communicate aspects to matter, reveal forces by verifying them, create individualities in unity, proportions in extent, the innumerable in the infinite, and, through light, produce beauty. These conjunctions are formed and dissolved incessantly; hence life and death.
-Victor Hugo, Les Miserables

He seated himself on a wooden bench, with his back against a decrepit vine; he gazed at the stars, past the puny and stunted silhouettes of his fruit-trees. This quarter of an acre, so poorly planted, so encumbered with mean buildings and sheds, was dear to him, and satisfied his wants.
-Victor Hugo, Les MiserablesWhat more was needed by this old man, who divided the leisure of his
life, where there was so little leisure, between gardening in the
daytime and contemplation at night? Was not this narrow enclosure, with
the heavens for a ceiling, sufficient to enable him to adore God in his
most divine works, in turn? Does not this comprehend all, in fact? and
what is there left to desire beyond it? -Victor Hugo, Les Miserables

A little garden in which to walk, and immensity in which to dream. At one's feet that which can be cultivated and plucked; over head that which one can study and meditate upon: some flowers on earth, and all the stars in the sky.
-Victor Hugo, Les Miserables

Have you ever read Les Miserables? What are some of your favorite Living Books?

This post is part of a series: 31 Days of Charlotte Mason. You can find all of the daily posts linked on the introductory page. I hope you will continue to join us for this journey through the month of October!